Microsoft accelerates AI skilling in Saudi Arabia, helping 3 million people acquire AI skills by 2030

• Empowering educators at scale: Microsoft Elevate for Educators launches with free AI credentials, a national learning community, and capacity building resources for educational organizations.
• Advancing women in AI: Targeted skilling initiatives aligned to Vision 2030, expanding women’s participation in high-demand digital and AI roles.

• From momentum to scale:More than 800,000 people have already completed essential AI training, and a commitment to help a further three million Saudis acquire AI skills by 2030.

Microsoft today announced a significant expansion of its AI skilling efforts in Saudi Arabia, building on the scale and impact of work delivered to date in support of Vision 2030 workforce priorities. Announced at the Microsoft AI Tour Riyadh, the company outlined its ambition to help a further three million people across the Kingdom acquire AI skills by 2030, reinforcing its long-term commitment to developing future-ready talent and enabling economic growth at scale.

As part of this effort, Microsoft also announced the launch of Microsoft Elevate for Educators in Saudi Arabia, a new program designed to strengthen AI capability across the education ecosystem. The global community program provides free AI literacy credentials, access to one of the world’s largest and most connected professional learning communities for educators and offers capacity building support and resources to organizations in the education ecosystem – enabling teachers and school leaders to integrate AI into teaching and learning in practical, responsible ways.

Within the broader ambition to help three million people acquire AI skills by 2030, Microsoft will focus on providing in-demand credentials to more than 500,000 educators across the Kingdom, alongside targeted initiatives to expand AI learning and skills for women, aligned with Vision 2030 objectives.

Microsoft’s AI skilling efforts in Saudi Arabia build on a long-standing partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and a broad national ecosystem to deliver impact at scale. Over the past few years, Microsoft has engaged more than one million people in AI, cloud, and data programs across the Kingdom, with over 800,000 learners completing training, far exceeding initial targets.

This momentum is reinforced by Microsoft’s collaboration with the Ministry of Education, including the nationwide deployment of Microsoft 365 across schools and universities. By embedding secure digital and AI tools into everyday teaching and learning, this initiative is helping equip millions of students, educators, and administrators with practical digital and AI capabilities, strengthening the foundation for long-term talent development.

Key national initiatives include the Microsoft AI Academy with Saudi Data & Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), which has recorded over one million enrollments, as well as Microsoft’s central role in SDAIA’s flagship Samai Initiative, where Microsoft provided more than two-thirds of the national AI curriculum that supported learning for over one million Saudis in AI fundamentals – one of the largest digital skilling efforts ever undertaken in the Kingdom.

These efforts also include the upcoming launch of the Microsoft Datacenter Academy, the first of its kind community-focused workforce and development skilling program in the Middle East, and large-scale programs that have supported skills development for 1,000 government employees in a single quarter with Digital Government Authority (DGA), more than 109,000 educators, and thousands of women with future-ready AI skills. Microsoft has also delivered the AI Global Leadership Program in partnership with MCIT, equipping more than 120 senior executives from Saudi’s public and private sector with in-depth AI training at Microsoft innovation and experience centers in Amsterdam, Munich and Seattle.

H.E. Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), said: “We thank and welcome Microsoft’s expanded commitment to AI skilling in the Kingdom, including its ambition to help three million people acquire AI skills by 2030. This strategic partnership strengthens our national talent pool, empowering our growing tech force and expanding opportunities for women in high-demand AI roles. Together, we are investing in people at scale, so innovation translates into productivity, new startups, and growth.”

Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, added: “Countries that lead in AI are those that invest not only in technology, but in people. Saudi Arabia’s AI ambitions are underpinned by a clear focus on skills, trust and long-term impact. By combining trusted cloud infrastructure with large-scale skilling efforts, we are supporting the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals and helping build an AI-ready workforce that can turn AI innovation into productivity, economic growth and lasting national advantage.”

Collectively, these capacity building programs are designed to build broad AI literacy, enabling learners across the Kingdom to develop practical, job-ready capabilities with credentials and access to community to help bring AI tools effectively into everyday learning and work.

Turki Badhris, President, Microsoft Arabia concluded: “Across Saudi Arabia, we’re already seeing AI skilling translate into real impact, helping organizations move decisively from early pilots to AI adoption at scale. From classrooms and government entities to developers and private-sector organizations, this is what frontier transformation looks like in practice: AI embedded into everyday work, supported by skills, trust, and strong foundations.”

Building on this commitment, Microsoft also highlighted its continued focus on expanding digital and AI skills for women in Saudi Arabia through targeted training, mentorship, and career focused learning opportunities aligned with Vision 2030 objectives. As part of this work, Microsoft is partnering with iCare, SDAIA and Spectrum on a global Data and AI initiative to make women job-ready, with a goal to train 5,000 women worldwide, building on more than 3,000 already certified across more than 110 countries.

The announcement at AI Tour Riyadh reinforces the talent pillar of Microsoft’s commitment to Saudi Arabia, complementing continued investment in trusted cloud and AI infrastructure and growing customer adoption across sectors. Together, these efforts are designed to support responsible AI adoption at scale, with learning content grounded in principles of security, privacy and governance.